BY KAREN BOSSICK

Those who see Ballet Sun Valley’s presentation of pre-professionals from the San Francisco Ballet tonight will have the unusual experience of seeing a new work that incorporates the Huapango, a rhythmic, traditional musical style that originated in Mexico.

The piece, titled “1941,” was conceived by Esteban Hernandez, a Guadalajara, Mexico, native who joined the San Francisco Ballet as principal dancer in 2013 and went on to win several prestigious awards, including the Jerome Robbins Foundation Award.

Hernandez is now doing choreography and composed the piece specifically for the dancers who danced its world premiere Thursday night at The Argyros in Ketchum and will offer an encore performance at 7 p.m. tonight—Friday, Oct. 11. (Tickets are available at  https://ci.ovationtix.com/35937/performance/11508365).

“It is important to our culture and history. I wanted to grab something iconic and well known to give people a different way to experience what they know,” said Hernandez.

Hernandez created the work for the pre-professionals as part of the Ballet’s Creation House, which is dedicated to research, creation and talent development. And he did so in the last six weeks, giving the dancers the experience of working with him in the creative process.

“This trained them to work at a quick pace, not only to learn the steps but to layer on top artistry and polish,” said Grace Maduell Holmes, director of the San Francisco Ballet School. “This will help them further their careers gaining skills that will make them invaluable company dancers.”

The San Francisco Ballet School is one of the nation’s oldest and most renowned ballet schools. And its pre-professional program offers regular performances in Sun Valley, thanks to Ballet Sun Valley, which has been partnering with the ballet on projects since its inception 13 years ago.

Dancers who are invited to be pre-professional Trainees have already completed years of training to achieve the level of technical and artistic excellence they bring to their performances at The Argyros.

There’s no time to sluff off as their training involves classes and rehearsal from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. six days a week. They also supplement the professional company productions as needed, giving them experience in the professional world.

They understudy and dance in many of San Francisco Ballet’s full-length productions from Christopher Wheeldon’s “Cinderella” to George Balanchine’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

“Those chosen few can expect a demanding curriculum that requires 100 percent commitment,” said Maduell Holmes

Their two performances in Sun Valley this week mark the first time they’ve performed on stage together since they began working on the program six weeks ago—something’s that considered an amazingly fast timeline.

“Most pre-professional students at this level only need one or two years of this transitional experience to be prepared to enter into the professional field,” said Maduell Holmes.

Those who will perform at the Argyros tonight come from several countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Greece and Iceland.

Developing an international flair is the way it’s been since the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee Program was established in 2004, with dancers auditioning from the likes of Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, England, South Korea, Macedonia, Paraguay, Thailand and even the Ukraine.

A one to two-year program, some of the students are chosen from the School’s advanced levels; others come from auditions.

While some pre-professional programs have many students participating, San Francisco Ballet Trainee program keeps the numbers low so they can have more opportunities to be on stage and are given a more individualized approach to their training.

“San Francisco Ballet School and professional company are at the highest level of excellence and achievement and have world renowned status,” said Maduell Holmes. “While there are many pre-professional programs across the nation, students who are able to train and work with San Francisco Ballet are offered the opportunity to experience a broad spectrum of dance styles, working with choreographers and teachers of unparalleled experience and acclaim.”

In addition to Hernandez’s new work, the dancers in tonight’s program also worked with San Francisco Ballet School faculty members Dana Genshaft and Viktor Plotnikov on two other pieces making their world premiere in Ketchum this week.

Not only do they perform both classical and contemporary works staged specifically for them, but they participate in workshops on choreography, stagecraft, teaching ballet and, of course, techniques like pointe, batterie and pas de deux.

Former pre-professional dancers with the San Francisco Ballet School have gone on to join prestigious ballet companies. Joao Percilio da Silva and Dylan Pierzina, for instance, are now with the San Francisco Ballet; Maisee Anderson is with the National Ballet of Canada,

Others have gone on to dance with Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet and Vienna State Opera Ballet.

Jacey Gailliard, who now dances with San Francisco Ballet, said she was jazzed to perform in Sun Valley during her first road trip as a dancer.

“It’ was inspiring to see how people value the art form of ballet, even in a smaller, serene space like Sun Valley,” she said.